The Bank of Japan (BoJ) released its April monetary policy meeting minutes. According to minutes, the underlying inflation was improving. But many board members said that there were downside risks to consumer prices due to uncertainty about long-term inflation expectations, consumer spending and the output gap.

Some board members said that the country's consumer price inflation wouldn't reach the 2% target in fiscal 2017.

Most board members expect that the growth in fiscal 2017 could slow due to a planned sales tax hike.

Minutes showed that the central bank wants to continue its monetary policy until the 2% inflation target will be reached, and it will adjust its monetary policy if needed.

The BoJ decided to keep unchanged its monetary policy at its April meeting.